


Coping Mechanisms

by Sharknadoslut



Category: X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Logan (2017), caliban - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 15:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11255535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharknadoslut/pseuds/Sharknadoslut
Summary: The reader helps Caliban and Logan take care of Xavier in the desert. While Logan is out working Caliban and the reader do whatever they can to get through the day.





	Coping Mechanisms

Sage, the house reeked of sage. Upon entering the front door you were hit with an overwhelming scent of sage. This was odd considering this dump usually smelt of dirt with a hint of rust. You closed the door behind yourself and went straight to the kitchen to unload the groceries.

As you began putting some of the food away you could hear stirring from down the hall. Logan would be gone for a few days for work so it surely wasn’t him.

“How’s he doing today, Cal?” You called out to the albino man, referring to how Charles was.

“He’s alive.” The tone in his voice was stale and drained. Dealing with Charles during one of his episodes could be mentally exhausting and, at times, heartbreaking. 

 

“Did he eat anything?”

“Yeah, he’s sleeping now.”

Nodding in response you continued to put away the groceries. The pale man stood in the doorway, observing you with light blue eyes. The two of you had developed a close friendship over the past few months while you helped the two men take care of Charles.

Back in the day, before the fall of mutants, you had actually sought the help of Charles Xavier to help you control your own mutation.You spent many years with the X-men. So upon running into Logan in recent he had invited you to help them take care of the Professor. You worked some days as a clerk at a nearby 24-hour coin laundry store and were the only person who could actually go into public and do day-to-day errands when Logan was gone for long periods of time for work.

Caliban was an odd one, always hard to read. You weren’t quite sure if it was the accent or the aloof sarcastic way he spoke, but you found him amusing. But despite this, you had grown pretty fond of him and his subtly quirky ways.

“It smells like sage in here.” You spoke up after a minute, inquiring about the source of the smell in the form of a statement.

“You complained about how it smelled in here…remember?” He replied. Slowly he muddled from the doorway into the kitchen, taking a seat on the other end of the table as you finished up. “I burned some sage..Thought it might take some of the musk away.”

A tiny smile tugged the ends of your lips at the kind gesture. So he did listen as it turns out, Logan would be shocked. You had to admit it was a nice smell, sage. It was definitely better than the normal scent of desert musky rot. You couldn’t help but to notice his deep blue eyes studying your face, waiting for a reaction. “That’s pretty thoughtful… Thanks, Cal.”

There was another comfortable silence that followed. You finished sorting through the last of the groceries with only one bag on the table, a small brown paper bag. To most adults, it was easy to tell just by the packaging what laid inside.

“What’s in there, then?” Caliban asked with a curious tone, cocking you a look that was nothing short of mischievous. “You planning a party or do you just wanna get me down to my wits end so you can take advantage?”

With a roll of the eyes you smiled slightly, getting a kick out of his silly humor. “Just a little treat.” Reaching over you pulled out your drink of choice. “Thought we deserved it… It’s been a hard couple of days..”

It seemed that Charles’s episodes were becoming more frequent and more violent. Logan was gone more and more, as if he was purposely staying away to avoid the stress of it all. You and Caliban coped the best you could, by sitting down and drinking away the troubles of this lonely life. Sometimes it ended up in nice conversations that sparked connections to last a life time, others led to spirited fighting, hell.. sometimes it even ended up in sex. Anything to get through another week of living in hell.

“Fuckin’ hell you’re truly the kindest woman on this Earth.” He rejoiced.

The rest was routine; you grabbed the cups (Making sure to give Caliban his favorite mug) and poured the sweet nectar. From there you both clinked your cups together in appreciation of the blurry escape that was soon to follow.

~

With a delighted drunken smile you laid your dozy eyes across the table at Caliban. In his right hand he held on tightly to his booze-filled mug and his eyes were fixated on a beetle that crawled near his feet.

His eyes were brilliantly bright blue, glassy and almost transparent looking at times due to this mutation, but still beautiful. His bright smooth skin was fun to touch, unlike any man you had ever been with before. He intrigued you, that’s for sure. Most people thought him to be ghastly and almost horrifying, but it was hard for you to see him as anything other than the peculiar fellow you enjoyed spending time with. Nothing unpleasant or gruesome about him.

He was just Cal… Your Cal.

It was hard to think of a proper way to define your relationship.. Romance certainly wasn’t the right way to look at it. Granted, you would occasionally fall into bed with one another.. But it was just physical.. Friendship? It was a lot more than friendship.

“Hey Cal..” You babbled, only realizing exactly how drunk you were after trying to speak.

The mans reaction to your words were truly delayed. His lazy eyes slowly rolled before meeting your gaze. He slumped his shoulders, comfortably leaning on the table before giving you a grunt in response.

“What are we?”

This pepped him up a bit. “What now?”

“Ya know..” gesturing to him then back to yourself you cocked him a brow. “Like.. We’re friends, right?”

“I’d say so.” He straightened his posture.

“And?“ Your filter had dispersed and you spoke what came to your mind, oh alcohol. “Are we just friends?”

Caliban paused, reading your facial expression for context. He seemed a bit more coherent than yourself at the moment. “I mean.. Do you want.. To be more than friends?”

You shook your head. “I don’t know… I just.” You groaned in annoyance, waving him off as you began to feel embarrassed for your words. “Forget it!”

“No, no-” He quickly spoke up, trying to pull you back down form your drunken hue and back into the subject at hand. “What do you think we are? Anything more than, uhh.. Just friends, then?”

You truly put thought into it, thinking hard about your view of Caliban and what he meant to you. “I honestly need you, Cal.” You blurted out, causing him to give you a wild look. “But not in a.. ‘oh god take me now’, kind of way… But, like..” You looked up at him and gave a kind smile. “You’re the only good thing about this rotten place.. All of our kind is gone and… Shit, Cal..”

Caliban paused for a very long time as if he was processing your words, or coming up with a proper response. His normally snow white skin seemed to be a light shade of rose

“Shush, you’re drunk.” He finally spoke up, standing from his chair. “Let me get you to bed before you end up proposing marriage or something insane.”

“It’s not like that!” You babbled, pouting as he put his hands on your shoulders and guided you down the hallway.

“I know, love… I know..”


End file.
